The necklace was purchased from an individual who did not have much information other than the fact she stated it was her grandmothers and she believes it is from New Mexico. The hallmark, if it it is one, was hard to find. I am no expert and found myself on this site after finding that a magnet was attracted to the base of the turquoise stones. I do believe they are backed with some type of magnetic material. There is no sterling hallmark but two locals here in CA with some knowledge did tell me they believe the necklace is authentic. I was foolish and polished it just to try to find a mark and see if it was in fact sterling. I found this site seemed friendly and I am hoping to gain some knowledge and find out more about the necklace. The mark is on the blossom. Three dots and a larger dot on top. Additional images pre polishing and after.
help us help you. adding more pictures of the front, back, clasp and anything else that looks unique might trigger a better response from the armchair detectives here.
Looks authentic to me. magnetic backs on the Turquoise can easily be explained if they were backed with Devcon. Devcon is magnetic, I don’t think that the small circles you see are a hallmark, but rather a technique for soldering the metal together or decorative. Very nice squash!
I was hopeful it was some type of signature by the artist. I was told this was 80’s or 90’s but it confused me that a squash necklace made during that time should have a makers mark. None of the other blossoms have these dots. I can see some soder marks but nothing like what I found on this one. Maybe just a fluke they appear as a symbol of sorts. Thank you for the response.
Thanks for the advice. I was having a hard time figuring this out but I’ve got some more up now. New users limited to 5 pics
That mark is very intriguing…its unique and looks intentional…if my soldering left a pattern like that Id start using it as an artistic tachnique but solder doesnt flow like that. It only jumps and makes spots unlike that when your piece isnt evenly heated and the patterns it makes are more like puddles near the seam…I dont think its solder…I think its been done with chasing/stamping tools/beading tools(not the kind you use for stringing beads the kind used for prong tips in stone setting) they can guve you the raised bumps and circles your seeing…its a very low relief which is used to decorat…the other thing I see is that its a four dot (like a Navajo flower) to the left of the ones you’ve pointed out…so check the other blossoms for any of that pattern that may have been rubbed away over time from things rubbing together…if you dont see any signs of rubbing which i dont see on this one it could be a hallmark that we are just not familiar with yet…if you do see the pattern or a rubbed anway pattern on any of the other parts then it might just be part of a stamped decoration…I hope this helps…beautiful piece and I would take it to get it tested at the jewelry store…test the beads and the blossoms separately…it really does look like silver but it may be a lower grade than 92.5% Sterling…thanks for posting and Welcome to the group!
~Koliopee